One Dark, Stormy Night
by nonnieDephlyn
Summary: Peter was an orphan. Eve was a nobody. Nico was thinking of leaving camp anyway... but one dark, stormy night everything changes. The Ophiotaurus is missing, and an army is forming by the Underworld. It's up to Peter, Evelyn and Nico to return Bessie and put down the rebellion... before Olympus comes tumbling down. R&R!  1 OC needed for chapter 9! Please submit!  Read story first
1. Chapter 1 The stranger in the Alley

It was just after midnight, and the pouring rain was not improving Peter's attitude. He had been waiting for the sign for over two hours, which would be hard on any kid but especially on someone with ADHD like himself. The blonde nurse who had told him about it had insisted on meeting him at the coffee shop at ten. She'd said they needed to "discuss things", and Peter had reluctantly agreed. What could it hurt? But the shop had closed an hour ago and now he was alone, in the pouring rain, huddling under an old newspaper, again.

_Just like old times,_ Peter thought bitterly, trying to wrap the paper tighter around his body. Where could he go? He had agreed to meet the nurse because she had said she would help him, and if there was anything Peter needed now, it was help. He knew that the orphanage wouldn't take him back after the doctor visit. They had been waiting for an excuse to dump him, and the excuse had finally come. ADHD and Dyslexia? They would certainly find a way to book him as "special need" and never have to see him again. Besides, it wasn't as if he was dying to return to that place. Peter sighed and raised his head to scan the street again.

Suddenly something caught his eye across the street. Had someone darted into that alley? Maybe the falling rain was playing tricks on him. The shape had definitely looked too big to be human. Pushing his wet red hair out of his eyes, Peter grabbed onto the switch blade he always kept in his pocket and slid it out.

"Hello?" He called out in the rain. No reply.

Peter stood up and stepped into the shadows. He tried to tell himself it was nothing, but every inch of his body seemed to be listening, straining, and pulsing with adrenaline, as though it knew something he didn't.

Peter started to sit down again, when suddenly he heard a scream from the alley across the street. He jumped up. What if it was the blonde nurse? He flicked open the switch blade and ran across the street, then, taking a deep breath, ducked into the alley.

At first Peter could see nothing, and then he heard another scream, and a weird hissing sound like a bow being released from an arrow. Instinctively Peter ducked low and crept towards the sound. If the attacker had a bow, he would have to get pretty close without being seen to do any damage. Heart pounding, Peter searched the alley. He could see almost nothing in the poor light, but heard the low raspy breathing of…something he was pretty sure wasn't human, and quick breathing, as though from a cornered animal. _Or a girl,_ Peter thought worriedly.

Suddenly the rain let up, and a strong, cold wind blew from the other end of the alley, bringing a nasty scent of…wet cat fur? The clouds burst open and the full moon illuminated the alley for a terrible three seconds. Peter's heart jumped to his throat. A huge creature, as large a as a big horse but shaped like a lion with a spine covered tail was crouching over a small girl. She looked young, and was certainly not the blonde nurse. Her skin was so pale in the moon light that at first Peter thought she was dead, but then he saw her chest heaving under her blood stained shirt.

All this Peter took in in a second, for then the monster turned towards him, its foul scent of death hitting him full in the face.

"Peter. How nice of you to come looking for me! I'm sorry I missed our date." The monster crooned, in a familiar female voice. Its mouth was filled with fang like teeth, but the eyes were human, a lovely, electric blue. Just like the nurse!

"You…You're a…"

The monster snarled and crouched, but before Peter could rationally gather his thoughts he was slammed to the ground, crushed under a thousand pounds of stinking fur. Thrashing violently, panicking, Peter opened a screwed up eyeball and screamed. He was staring straight into the monsters blue eyes, and felt a drop of saliva drip on to his neck, burning like acid. _This is it, _Peter thought, absent mindedly wondering if anyone would notice he was gone. Probably wouldn't even look for him.

But then another acidy drop fell on his neck, and another, and suddenly something dawned on him.

It was absolutely silent.

Aside from his own heart, thundering in his ears, he could hear nothing. And as he opened his eyes, he felt the weight lifting, and saw the monster disintegrating into gold dust all over him. Coughing, Peter stood in shock. He looked down to find his now bloody knife still clenched tightly in white knuckles. The clouds covered the moon again, and the alley was thrown into darkness, leaving Peter shaking all over and wondering if he had been dreaming. Had he really just _accidentally killed a monster?_ And right here, in an alley he passed almost every day for school?

A cry from the back of the alley brought him back to the present. He turned, searching for the bleeding girl, hoping she wasn't hurt to badly. Stumbling over something in the dark he tripped and fell onto something warm and wet. It moaned and struggled slightly under him, and he sat up quickly, apologizing profusely.

No response.

Terror filled Peter. Had he come too late? He didn't even know the girl, but she was the reason he had come to this dark alley in the first place. Gently Peter lifted her head onto his lap and leaned his ear over her lips, using the hand that wasn't cradling her to check her pulse. Both her breath and pulse were weak and shallow, but they were still there. _It's alright. I've got you now, it's going to be ok, _Peter thought, rocking the girl gently in his arms, silently begging for the smallest whimper, the tiniest flicker of life to come from her.

And suddenly it happened. The girls eyes opened and the moon slid out from behind the clouds, illuminating large grey eyes full of pain, but fully conscious and aware. _Beautiful eyes, _Peter thought, licking his lip nervously.

"Are you ok?" He said, helping her sit up next to him. She moaned again, and gestured to a knapsack a few feet away.

"My…my bag. Get my…" Her voice was full of pain, low and husky. Peter reached for the brown bag and placed it in her lap. Her eyelids fluttered, so he begun digging through it himself. Was there some medicine or something? Peter pulled out a zip lock baggy of lemon-square looking things, and the girl moaned and nodded her head.

"um, you don't happen to have some bandages or something here, do you?" he said, and started to put the cookies back, but she reached for them feebly.

"Whatever you say." Peter opened the packet and pulled out a lemon square, holding it up to the girl's mouth. She took it, eating the whole thing, then fell back into his lap.

Peter stared at the bag of squares. What were they, healthy cookies or something? He didn't think they'd be much help.

Suddeny the girl opened her eyes and sat up in his lap quickly. She slid off, and, leaning against the back wall, stood up. Peter gasped. What had been a huge gash on her arm was only a small white scar. Though he could not see her chest, no more blood was dripping down her shirt. But…how?

She reached for the bag and ate another cookie, then reached into her knapsack and pulled out a thermos, which she took a long draught from. She was now standing up, looking, besides the torn bloody shirt, none the worse from her fight with the monster.

Having apparently sated her thirst, the girl turned to him, looking him over, her view coming back to the knife in his hand again and again.

"Who are you?" She said, with a hint of fear in her voice. "Did you kill the Manticore with _that knife? _How?" Suddenly she stepped closer to him and grabbed the knife, turning it over and over in her hands, inspecting it in the moonlight,

"How did you get this? I thought you were…mortal." She said the word mortal in a whisper, looking straight into his eyes with her big grey ones, as though trying to read the answers in his eyes.

"I…I…I have no idea what you're talking about. Manticore? Is that the monster thing? I guess when he fell on me he must have fallen on the knife…" Peter stuttered, squirming under her gaze.

"Its certainly celestial bronze. But since you don't know that you're a half-blood, where could you have gotten it?" Peter shook his head, completely clueless as to what she was talking about.

"I'll have to take you to camp, immediately." She said, more to herself. Then she rummaged through the bag and produced two blankets.

"I call the blue one. We'll take a taxi first thing in the morning. Now you lie down there, and I'll put this pipe between us, say, you don't kick in your sleep, do you? Oh well never mind it can't be helped. I'm Eve, by the way. Its short for Evelyn. What's your name?" she stopped her chatter and turned to him.

"Uh…Peter. Um, why are we sleeping here? Where are we going? Camp?" He knew he looked like an idiot, but he couldn't think straight. A wave of tiredness washed over his body, and he reached for the red blanket.

"It's…oh, I'll explain in the morning. You look ready to pass out." She laid two pieces of cardboard on the ground and a PVC pipe in-between them, then spread her blue blanket down, lay on top of it, and tucked the edge around her as though she slept in an alley every night.

"Goodnight." She said cheerily, and closed her eyes, her black, wavy hair spreading like a pillow beneath her.

Peter awkwardly lay down next to her and pulled the blanket over him, sure he wouldn't sleep a wink.

"Hey Peter?" Eve said beside him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving my life."

"Uh…no problem." He said, surprised. She smiled, and then Peter felt he could barely keep his eyes open any longer.

He rolled over on his side, and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 I Accidently Kill a Cyclops

Chapter 2

**Sorry I forgot AN on the last chapter; this is my first story, but I hope you like it! I know all the characters so far have been quite unfamiliar, but don't worry. We'll meet up with the others soon. Please Read&Review, your opinion is really important to me! **

**This story, incase you were wondering, takes place after the Titan war but before TLH and SoN.**

**Oh yeah. I don't own any of Rick Riordan's stuff; I'm only inspired by it.**

**Enjoy!**

Peter opened his eyes blearily. He couldn't have slept worse. Besides lying on a piece of cardboard in an alley, he had had the worst nightmares ever. Him, and a kid with dark hair were trekking across a black valley filled with skeletons. They kept walking and couldn't seem to get any closer, and suddenly a deep, evil laughter filled the air and they fell into a net. There was also a cow mooing in the background, but Peter couldn't decide how that fit into the dream. But he had had the most terrible feeling, like walking into a terrible trap, and even though he was awake now he couldn't seem to shake it.

He looked around at the alley. Eve was gone, he noticed. Her cardboard was there but her blanket was no where to be seen, and neither was she. He stood up shakily and picked up the red blanket. When he did, a small white paper fell out. He unfolded it carefully.

"**Gone for taxi. Will be back soon," **Had been written clumsily with charcoal, making it harder to read on his dyslexic eyes.

_So it wasn't just part of the nightmare,_ Peter mused. He walked over to the spot where he had fought the monster the night before. What had Eve called it? A Manticore? He knelt in the dust, which held a hint of gold, and immediately felt a stinging pain shoot up his leg from his knee, so sharp in the instant that his eyes blurred and he stumbled backwards from the unseen pain. Standing again, Peter went back to the spot. There in the dust lay a spine. It was a sinister black, with a blood red tip, besides a drop of Peter's own blood. It had to have been from the tail of the Manticore, he decided. It was also a good six inches long. Peter stuck the spike into his pocket, careful of the tip. A trophy of war.

Peter had just stood up when a taxi screeched to a halt in front of the alley and Evelyn burst out.

"Quick! Hurry! They're after us! Get in the car! We have to make it to half-blood hill in time!" She grabbed his arm and jerked him into the taxi, her black hair hanging unruly down to her waist, where Peter noticed she had a belt and long knife casually tucked beneath a wrinkled blue t-shirt.

He jumped in and slammed the door, glancing out the window, wondering exactly _what_ was after them, but not sure he wanted the answer. The taxi started up, and sped down the drive, careening past other drivers in effort to stay ahead of whatever was after them. Peter could still not see anything, but Evelyn kept checking her knife and glancing backwards again and again, pressing her feet as hard as she could against the floor of the car as though she were pushing them faster and faster.

Finally he saw them. Two huge giants, running at an alarming speed for such fat creatures, were barreling down the road after the car. Their huge spiked boots ripped gashed in every car they even brushed past, and they were throwing huge stones like pebbles towards the taxi.

"Cyclopes! I know why Annabeth hates them." Muttered Evelyn angrily, pushing the floor even harder. Peter swallowed fearfully. A Cyclops might be even harder to kill than a Manticore, even if he did do it on accident.

"Peter! For goodness sakes! You're not making the car go any faster by pushing the floor with your feet! Oh, the logic of boys…" Evelyn scolded, shaking her head hopelessly at him.

"But you were…" he tried to defend himself, but suddenly Evelyn shrieked in the poor cabdriver's ear;

"There! There it is! Pull up by the strawberry farm! And hurry! Can't you see the Cyclopes are almost here?" She jumped up and down on the floor of the car, trying to give it a last burst of speed, much to Peter's annoyance, and they were almost there. He saw a large tree with a dragon guarding it and a shiny gold thing, and a big house next to fields of strawberries.

Suddenly a huge force hit the car and it shot off the road, rolling twice before landing in a ditch. Peter could hear the Cyclopes tearing the wheels off the car, trying to get inside to them, and Evelyn, next to him, simultaneously trying to keep her cool and freaking out, struggling for her knife and cursing very colorfully in Greek.

Peter pulled out his own knife, and slid through the window. If he could go around the big brutes while they were occupied with chewing the wheels off, maybe he could leave his knife in the back of one and his spike in the other. _How hard could it be? I just can't chicken out and end up getting Evelyn killed, _Peter thought, chewing his lip.

Sure enough. The Cyclopes were busy knowing the wheels, and didn't notice his approach. He could hear Eve cutting loose the seatbelt from the driver, and took that to mean that the two of them were still alive, at least. He moved in on the back of the first Cyclops, wondering how high he had to place the knife to make him turn to dust.

Suddenly a terrible thought came to him. What if only Manticores disintegrated? Maybe that wasn't for all monsters… gulping hard and with a shaking hand, Peter held up the knife and was about to thrust it into the beast when…It whirled around and impaled itself! Peter screamed, an embarrassing high-pitched scream, as the monster clutched the knife, and, with a groan of surprise, faded away to golden dust at Peter's feet, leaving a bloody knife.

Peter barely had time to scoop up the knife when he heard a roar of rage from behind him and saw that the other Cyclops had noticed him. He turned to run, but a surprisingly quick leg shot out and he tripped and fell to the ground, stunned for a second.

A second too long. The monster picked up the knife and was about to stab him. Desperately, hopelessly, Peter scrambled for his spike and managed to stand up. The monster roared, and reached to trip him again, when he turned to the left and promptly fell on his face over a stump. The Cyclops, who probably didn't have the best of eyes, looked around confusedly for him. This was his chance! Peter grabbed the spike, turned over on his back, and chucked it as hard as he could at the Cyclops stomach. It missed, embedding in the monster's knee. The great creature bellowed with rage, keeling over from the poison of the Manticore's spine. Thankfully, it dropped the knife, which Peter scooped up and was about to thrust into the monster's belly when…it turned to dust, a long silver knife point protruding from its belly like a horn.

Evelyn stood behind it, covered in the gold dust of the Cyclops, bleeding from a cut on her forehead, her shirt sleeve torn off, but grinning at him.

"You can fight." She declared, smiling at him like he was the best in the world. Peter smiled back, not caring now about his cuts or scrapes. The pair walked back to the flipped taxi, with the cabby huddled behind it, looking very afraid, but not hurt in the least bit.

"Don't worry Marty. I'll tell Chiron to get you a new one, alright? Why don't you come back with us? It's been a while since he's seen you." Eve patted the shaking man on the back and the three walked up the hill to the camp.

Peter stared at everything they passed. A dragon, guarding a tree with what looked like a big hunk of steel wool, except that it was gold. A little man with furry legs like a goat walked past them as they stepped onto the porch, and there were much more out playing volleyball with a bunch of kids in orange t-shirts. Some kids were playing sword fighting, but with real swords and Greek armor. It all seemed like something out of a movie to him.

Finally they came to two men playing a card game on the far end of the porch. One was in a wheel chair and had a beard; the other was kind of ugly and wearing a touristy shirt. Eve ran up to the man in the wheel chair and put her hand on his shoulder excitedly.

"Chiron! Chiron! Look who I brought! I wasn't even looking, he just found me! I was on my way home from my father's house and had to stay the night in an alley when this HUGE Manticore comes up, and I fought it but it knocked me down and was about to kill me, when Peter shows up. He just killed it! I'm not even sure how he did it, but he did! Then we took the cab, you know, Marty's, and got attacked by two Cyclopes, and I killed one and he killed the other. He just had this knife, celestial bronze, but I don't how! I've never seen him before, and he didn't understand anything about the monsters or camp or anything!" She seemed to have a pretty good opinion of him, at least until the end part.

Peter shifted from foot to foot nervously, and cleared his throat. Boy, Eve sure had a lot to say. Usually Peter did too, but he was pretty out of his element now.

The other man, the one who looked a little like a tourist, burped at Eve, as though annoyed.

"Well young lady, if you have finished your endless tirade, I'm in the middle of a very important game." He grumbled.

"Wait, Mr. D. I'll have a word more with the boy." Said Chiron, turning back to Peter.

"Three monsters in seven hours? This is fairly unusual, Peter. Do you have any idea who your godly parent is?"

Peter shook his head no.

"Do you know who your mortal parent is?"

Again, no. Peter had been in the orphanage since he was an infant.

"Hmm. This is an unusual case. Do you have any…talents or gifts that stand out to you or give us a clue who it might be?"

Feeling quite stupid at this point, Peter shrugged vaguely. He was good at sports, sometimes. He was good at running when he wanted to be, and could sing if he really felt like it. But there was nothing that stood out to him as something this man would be interested in. Peter wasn't even sure exactly what the man was talking about.

There was only one thing that Peter guessed this man would be interested in, but he would never tell him. Peter didn't trust Chiron enough, not yet. He had never told anyone his whole life about his ability; and he wasn't starting now.

Chiron looked into Peter's brown eyes with his green ones. They seemed to search down to Peter's very soul, and Peter squirmed under his gaze.

"So…" The first thing he'd said since entering the porch, "Can anyone explain what's going on here? I'm a little lost."

Eve smiled at him, and Chiron wheeled into the big house.

"I'm going to show our little orientation video. If you have any questions afterwards, Eve, you help the boy out. And then get him set up in the Hermes cabin." Chiron wheeled out of the room, leaving Peter and Eve alone, about to reveal the mystery.

**So there is your next chapter! I hope you like the story! Please review when you're done.**


	3. Chapter 3 The Missing Hero

Chapter 3. The Missing Hero

**Hello everyone! Here is the third chapter. Okay, I have to say, the time/fashion that I've set this story up with requires that I don't follow the events from the Lost Hero. Except for Percy's disappearance, things will be different from how they were portrayed in the book. But as the author of this tale, I exercise my creative liberties and will make all the changes I need, within reason, so sorry if it becomes a little confusing.**

**Oh and I still don't own any of Rick Riordan's stuff.**

Eve stepped into the sunlight of the porch, biting her lip nervously.

Peter hadn't said a word the whole video.

For some reason it was really important to her that he approved of the camp; of her whole world. She knew his situation was a little different than most of the other kids, but she hoped he would still like camp, and maybe even fit in.

Peter stepped out behind her, a frown on his face, his light brown eyes looking dark beneath his bright red shaggy bangs. He obviously wasn't taking this as well as she had hoped. She searched his face, absentmindedly wondering who his godly parent was, since he didn't look like any of the other kids at camp…well, then again, she didn't look _that_ much like the other Athena kids.

"Hey. You alright?" She said, gently touching his arm. He jumped, but just shrugged.

"Wanna go on the tour? Or…" He nodded, but didn't seem like he was paying her any attention.

She turned away, hurt. Why was he ignoring her? She hadn't done anything. She broke into a run down the slope, towards the Hermes cabin.

"Hey! Hey Eve! Wait up, girl!" Peter yelled after her, and then started to run down the hill after her.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" he crashed into someone, a girl about Eve's height with long curly blonde hair and large, stormy grey eyes. She had fallen backwards, and he helped her up, and then realized something.

She was sobbing.

"Hey. It's ok… what happened? I'm sorry, I didn't see you. What's wrong?" He pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair.

Eve ran back over and pulled the girl away from Peter, into her own arms. It was her sister, Annabeth.

"Go for Chiron. Run! Something serious has happened."

Peter nodded, turning reluctantly away from the girls, then broke into a run towards the porch.

"Shh…It's ok, sis. What happened? Was it Percy?" At this Annabeth pulled away from Eve and stared down towards the sea, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He…He's…He's gone." She stuttered out, turning her eyes back towards her sister. Eve's own eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean? On another quest? But…we just defeated the Titans."

Annabeth shook her head, no longer sobbing, but with tears still spilling down her cheeks.

"No. Not on a quest. I've been searching for him since sunrise. We were going to meet to watch the sun rise, and when he didn't show up, I started to get worried, but now it's almost lunch. And five minutes ago, I went to his cabin." She started to cry again. "It's torn to shreds! The blankets are on the floor, his pillow a pile of feathers, and there are drops of blood across the door way. I think he's been taken. Maybe he's…dead."

"No! You know Percy! He's too strong for that. We'll find him! Don't worry Annabeth." Eve tried to sound hopeful, though she too was terrified. Percy was more than a leader, especially to Annabeth, but to her too. She would never admit it to her sister, but she had always been jealous of her relationship with Percy. And now he was gone.

Eve heard the sound of a horn blowing, calling all the counselors together for a meeting. Annabeth straightened up and pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, squared her shoulders and started down towards the Big House, leaving her sister behind on the little grassy knoll.

Peter jogged towards Eve, stopping by Annabeth to ask something Eve couldn't make out, tilting his head concernedly, his eyes gazing at her face, paying close attention to what she said. _Not like with me,_ Eve thought, feeling a surprising twinge of jealousy.

_What am I thinking! Of course he's concerned about her! I should be too, and concerned about Percy. _She shook her head as though to shake the foolish thoughts away, and turned to head towards Peter. The tour would need to wait for later, when the counselors weren't in such a serious meeting.

* * *

><p>Peter slipped into the supper table with his fellow cabin-mates. The tour had been pretty cool, in his opinion. This wasn't going to be a bad place at all. Sweet cabins, sword fighting, a lake to swim in, monsters, and, best of all, tons of cute girls.<p>

His cabin mates weren't so terrible either. The leaders, the Stoll brothers, might be kinda weird, but they were good temporary roommates. That is, he wasn't missing any of his provided stuff yet.

Peter turned his head. The sounds of a large horse entering the dining area echoed across the floor, and suddenly he saw Chiron…but not like the Chiron that he saw on the porch! This Chiron was…part horse! From the waist down, he was a large white horse! Peter was so shocked he missed what Chiron had said, and realized everyone in the dining room was staring at him, snickering. He blushed deeply, and Travis Stoll whacked him on the back

"Get up there, kid! He's gonna introduce you to the campers!" He hissed.

Peter stood up slowly, hoping he wouldn't trip on his way to the front. Chiron smiled kindly at him, as did most of the kids, but one of the tables, with a bunch of big, wrestler-looking kids laughed and whispered behind their hands at him.

"Peter Taylor! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! We hope you are claimed soon!" Chiron boomed, putting a large hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter nodded. He understood what a claiming was. But who was his parent?

"Tell me Peter," Chiron gestured for the campers to go up to the altar to sacrifice their food, and said this last part in a low voice meant just for Peter. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

Chiron frowned as though this were the wrong answer.

"You're fifteen? But the gods promised…" He trailed off, looking out into the horizon.

Peter watched him. What was weird about that? Did he look a lot younger or something?

"The gods promised to claim all their children by the age of thirteen, so long as they were in camp borders. Why have you not been claimed?" He frowned again at Peter, as though expecting him to know the answer.

_It's pretty simple,_ thought Peter, though he said nothing, _He (or she) just doesn't care about me._

Chiron sent him to eat his food, but stayed staring out at the sky, as though searching it for answers.

* * *

><p>Eve glanced up at Annabeth, across from her at the table. She was barely picking at her food. The meeting must not have gone well. In Annabeth's eyes, "well" would have meant being granted a quest. And Eve knew that she hadn't.<p>

"Chiron says we have to wait for something from the oracle." Annabeth said, without looking up from her plate. Eve knew what she was talking about.

"It's ok. You know he just doesn't want us to rush out and do stuff when Percy might be…I don't know, somewhere were we can't find him?"

Annabeth buried her face in her hands. Eve bit her lip. She wasn't being very comforting, and she knew it.

Suddenly Peter walked up to their table. Eve frowned at him. This wasn't a good time!

"Um, Annabeth, Chiron wants to talk to you. It's about the Oracle…" Peter had barely said the word "oracle" and Annabeth was halfway to the porch. Peter smiled.

"She really loves him." He said, sliding in next to Eve. Eve chewed her lip, staring at her plate.

"What's wrong? You've been kinda quiet, and for you, that's kinda weird." He turned to her, his deep brown eyes searching hers. She glanced away quickly, and mechanically took another bite of food; not tasting it at all.

"You can't sit at this table. Only Athena's kids can sit at this table." She said, and glanced up at his face.

He searched her eyes a last time, then wordlessly stood and walked away.

"Hey sis," One of her brothers leaned in and elbowed he gently, "Great job scaring him away! I thought he would never leave." Her other brothers snickered.

All of a sudden Eve wasn't hungry. She stood up and ran to her cabin, leaving her confused siblings staring after her.

Why was she so…depressed? She should be glad! If there was something from the oracle, then that was probably good news. Right? But it didn't feel good at all. Things would go back to how they had always been. Her sister would get another quest, would get back her handsome, brave boyfriend, and Eve would just fade back into the background. The closest thing to a quest she had ever had was running into a monster on her way back from visiting her father.

How could one not be a least a little jealous of Annabeth? Even Peter, the mysterious new camper _she_ had found and brought to camp, seemed to like Annabeth.

Thinking of Peter made her guilty. She had been rude to him at the table, when he come to see her, not Annabeth. Maybe he did care about her.

_Maybe it doesn't even matter, _she thought, and feeling very tired, opened the wood paneled door to her cabin, flopped down on her bunk, and drifted off to sleep.

**There was your third chapter! Hope you liked it! Sorry if the ending was a little abrupt. So…any guesses on Peter's godly parent? I know I haven't given many clues… **

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4 The Floating Kid

**Hey! Sorry for taking forever to update. I returned to my job, so I'm back where I volunteer in an orphanage in Honduras, called REACH, and so have less time to write, but hopefully I will be able to update more often again. **

**This chapter is for the reviewers who were wondering about Peter's ability, and Nico, and the Parent, so please enjoy!**

**And I still don't own any of Rick Riordan's stuff.**

Chapter 4 The Secret

Eve rolled in her sleep, moaning and struggling against the sheets. They were after her again. The army of monsters had her almost trapped, chasing her around stalagmites and over shattered bones. She was in the Underworld, but she wasn't dead, at least not yet. But she wouldn't last for long. She was tripping more often now; her breath coming out in short painful little gasps.

Eve stumbled and fell. This was it. She was done for.

Then a strong hand grabbed hers and pulled her up, and a face appeared in front of hers. Pale skin, and shaggy dark hair framing deep, dark eyes that stared straight into hers.

_Evelyn! We are almost there. I know the way. Follow me. _

Then he turned and ran ahead, a short black sword in his hand.

* * *

><p>Eve woke up, sweating and breathing hard. She had been having the same dream for four nights in a row, but this was the first time that there had been someone else in it. She didn't know the kid with the brown hair, but it could be anyone since she had only joined camp a few weeks after the Titan War.<p>

_It could be someone dead…_She shivered at the thought. It had been in the underworld, so it was a possibility…Eve tossed her head and shuddered, banishing the thought from her mind. But the more she thought the dream over, the more something stood out to her: When the kid with the dark hair had ran ahead, someone was still holding on to her, still holding her up. But who was it?

* * *

><p>Peter sliced at the dummy with his sword, sweat dripping into his eyes. He had been in camp for four days, and still hadn't been claimed. What was his parent, like, asleep or something? <em>Whack!<em> He severed the dummy's arm into a heap of sawdust on the floor. Or maybe this was some joke. He wasn't the kid of anybody at all. _Swoosh!_ His blade swung high over his head and hit its target with perfect accuracy.

"You're pretty good at that." A voice jolted him from his angry reverie.

Peter turned, panting heavily. A boy, about a year or so younger than him, dressed entirely in black, with pale skin and a black sword at his belt, stood at the entrance of the practice arena. He looked like he had been chased the whole way to camp, but though Peter hadn't seen him in the four days he had been at camp; he got the feeling that the kid wasn't new. Though he had a guarded, cautious air, he seemed to have no awe of the place where they both stood.

Peter chewed his lip, not entirely sure what to say.

"Um, thanks." He turned back to the dummy, and hacked at it a little more before stopping again and turning to the kid, who was still standing there.

"Um, are you looking for somebody?" Peter said, with a little annoyance this time.

"Do you know where Percy Jackson is? He usually works out here. He's about this tall, roughly 16 years old, black hair, green eyes?" The boy gestured with his hands to demonstrate.

"You missed him by about four days. He vanished the first day I got here." Peter said, congratulating himself on the guess that the kid wasn't new.

The boy frowned, and looked as though he were about to ask again, and then shut his mouth, surprised.

"I can point out his girlfriend if you want." Peter offered, "She knows way more than me."

"I know who his girlfriend is." The kid said, somewhat sharply, and then turned to leave.

"I'm Peter by the way!" Peter yelled after him. _Sheesh. What's his problem?_ He turned back to the dummy, but lowered his sword, looking after the kid. On an impulse he sheathed his sword and ran after the boy.

They ran towards the Athena cabin, and Peter hid underneath one of the windows as the kid ran inside the cabin, calling Annabeth's name. Their voices were too low to make out completely, but Peter caught a few words.

"…monsters…"

"An army…"

"Four days! Where…"

"Hey! That sock is mine!" Peter guessed the last one must have been from one of Annabeth's brothers. Annabeth and the boy opened the door and came out, both looking worriedly at each other. Without noticing Peter, they turned and made their way to the big house, calling out to other counselors to come for a meeting. Peter waited till they were a little ways ahead, and then followed them towards the porch.

The counselors slipped into the room, all looking grave and worried. Once everyone was in, Peter crept quietly onto the porch. He couldn't hear very well, but was sure that he would be able to listen from underneath the window of the room. He leaned flat against the wall with his back to the rough wood surface, cocking his head towards the sill, listening.

"…It's like nothing I've seen before!" It was the boy talking now. "There are hundreds, maybe thousands. They are surrounding the underworld, trying to get in. It's like there is something in there that they want. I tried to talk to my father but he is silent. He knows, but won't say. They are going to break in. And the other night, maybe a few days ago, I heard him talking to Persephone. He told her that the gods are angry with him and think he sent me to steal it, and is keeping it there in the Underworld somewhere…"

"What is it?" A deeper voice interrupted.

"I'm not entirely sure. I've got an idea..." He became silent. Peter peered over the sill, and saw everybody looking at Chiron.

"As do I." Chiron said, swishing his tail. There was complete silence.

"Well," Chiron said hesitantly, obviously reluctant to tell his tale, "a few years ago, there was a very special monster, captured by Percy. He was taken to Olympus and kept there, for he was very dangerous to the gods. But… a few days ago, there was a disturbance in Olympus. Something happened, and now I do not believe the monster is still there…this could be the thing Hades was talking about. However, it sounds, from what Nico has told us, that Hades does not have it." He stroked his beard, turning his head towards a window on the opposite side of the room, towards the sea, and gazing out thoughtfully.

Peter shifted uncomfortably in his cramped little spot. All this trouble over a little monster? Weren't they like, _pets_ or something to the gods? He had thought they only bothered half-bloods. He was about to sneak away when the boy, Nico, began to speak again.

"Or at least he doesn't know he has it." Nico said, in such a low voice Peter barely heard him.

There was a murmuring from the campers, a slight change to the air. This was starting to concern Peter a little bit. He leaned closer, pressing his ear to the coarse wood.

"I've been in and out of the underworld many times. By one of the entrances, there is a tunnel going off to the side. I have never gone down it, but the last time I passed it, last night, it was thick with monsters, and I could sense a strange presence. It is on the very border of the Underworld, which would explain my father not knowing. Or at least not being sure."

"Um, excuse me, but what is this thing exactly? You guys aren't being very clear." Said a deep voice Peter recognized as Butch, the large, fierce, burly leader of the Iris cabin. He was the only guy Peter knew who could look threatening with a rainbow tattoo on his calf. He was actually the only person Peter knew with a rainbow tattoo, but still.

"The Ophiatuarus. A sacred cow-serpent, that when sacrificed, can destroy Olympus."

Nico said, with the slightest tremor in his voice. Peter couldn't blame the dude, though less because of the destroying Olympus part and more of the fact that he was scared of cows.

Suddenly the door flew open, and Peter, startled, jumped up and took a quick step backwards. Too quick. He tripped on a Pepsi can and tumbled backwards over the rail of the elevated porch and down at least ten feet to the hard stone walkway. Falling, falling, and seeing everything as though in slow motion, Peter saw the faces of the head counselors, who were now leaving the meeting, staring at him in surprise. He saw the stone pathway as he flew towards it, sure he would at least suffer a concussion…or worse. The floor came up to meet him and he screwed his eyes shut tight, tossing up a prayer to whomever his parent was.

Suddenly he heard everyone gasp. Opening one eye, Peter saw the ground, an inch from his nose, but not getting any closer. His breath, coming in short gasps, caused dust from the walk to fly into his nose and tickle. He would have sneezed, but he couldn't, for he realized what everyone was gasping about.

Peter was floating.

Chiron came galloping down the stairs and around the walk to Peter, who was trying very hard to gently let himself down onto the ground. He looked up at Chiron's white knees, and licked his lips nervously, but at that moment he fell the rest of the way and ended up licking the stone walk.

"Peter. Peter, get up my boy. Are you hurt?" Chiron's voice seemed to give permission to the others. Everyone started talking at once, and Peter tried to scramble up from the ground as quickly as he could.

"Did you see that?"

"It was like someone was holding him up!"

"I've never seen anyone do that, ever!"

"Peter! Peter? What's going on?"

The last one was Eve, who hastily jerked him up and started to brush the dirt from his face and clothes, gripping his arm hard and looking at him like he was a freak.

"What happened to him?" She turned to Chiron, who said only to bring him inside and for everyone to leave, looking very grave.

Peter following them in, a sick feeling in his stomach. Here came the part where they kicked him out, out of the only home he ever knew, the only place where he felt he truly belonged. He chewed his still slightly dusty lip, desperately trying to think of something to say as the big door of the Big House shut behind him. How could he explain that? He had managed to keep his secret, his strange power over the air, from almost everyone since he had discovered it falling off a wall when he was four. But now almost the whole camp knew, or would know by nightfall.

Chiron sat across from him, somehow in a strange wheel chair thing, though Peter couldn't think how he could've gotten in it that fast. Eve sat down next to him, near enough that he could feel how tense she was.

"Peter. We need to talk about what happened. Have you…have you been able to do this for long?" He looked concernedly at Peter, but not that freaked out.

"Umm, uh, do what?" he said weakly, trying to smile confusedly.

"Peter, there have been very few people in the history of the world that can do what you just did. The few who did…it was a talent from…from their father."

Eve looked nervously at Peter, and he noticed she was still holding his arm.

"Peter I think…I think you may be the son of…" And suddenly he gasped, staring in awe at something above Peter's head. Eve got off the sofa immediately, and knelt before Peter. Chiron bowed his head, declaring solemnly the words that would forever change his life:

"Hail Peter Taylor, son of Zeus."

**So! What do you think? I answered two huge questions right there in one chapter. **

**Was it alright? Let me know! Does Peter not seem that much like a child of the big three? Please review and I'll try to be quicker in updating next time!**


	5. Chapter 5 Of Earth and Sky

**Chapter 5. Of Earth and Sky**

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been such a long time…but this chapter is extra long to make up for it. It also has the first Nico POV, at the end.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: though Peter, Evelyn, and the plot are mine, the settings, other characters, and super cool Greek mythology theme were copied from Rick Riordan. **

Evelyn stumbled out of the room after Peter. What had happened? She couldn't believe what she had seen. And from what she'd heard of Zeus, Peter wasn't like him in the least bit. So how could The Lord of the Sky be his father?

Chiron came down the wood steps slowly, as though dreading arriving at the bottom. Peter walked over to the railing and looked down at the spot where he had been almost brained, then up to the clouds above in disbelief. Finally he turned and came down to where Chiron and Eve were standing at the bottom. He looked dazed, like he could barely believe what had happened.

"Is there, um, could… could there be a mistake? I'm not really…not really…" He shook his head and worked a hole in the ground with his toe. Eve felt sorry for the kid. She had felt pretty much the same when she found out her mom was the goddess of wisdom, when she had pretty awful grades in school. Of course, that was before she'd found out about the whole dyslexia and reading Greek thing. She reached a hand out and put it reassuringly on his shoulder, smiling gently.

"It's a lot to take in at first, isn't it? But it's better to know. It's worse to always wonder and have to live in the Hermes cabin. Now you have your own. Hey! You even have a sister!"

Peter looked at her, surprised, his deep brown eyes searching hers, and she had to look away to focus on what he was saying.

"But there isn't any other Zeus kid here. I thought the cabin was empty."

"It is. Your sister travels with the Hunters of Artemis and only visits here occasionally. But she's pretty cool! Annabeth is good friends with her, and so is Percy." Although from what Annabeth had told her of Thalia, the daughter of Zeus and lieutenant of the Hunters, she sounded pretty different from Peter.

"Why don't you go down to the Hermes cabin for your things? I'll send Eve after you in a second, Peter. Then maybe you could get in a little more practice, or rest, since we have capture the flag tonight, alright?" Chiron looked concernedly at Peter, as though the simple instructions might be too hard for the gangly teen, who stared off as though he weren't listening.

"Um, sure." Peter turned and walked off down the path, as Chiron turned his attention back to Eve. He raised his eyebrows at her in question, and Eve blushed, realizing she was still staring after Peter.

"Do you think he'll be okay? He is not really what I thought a child of Zeus would be like. He's not really powerful looking, or much of a leader. Or at least I haven't really seen it." She wondered how long he'd been able to float.

"We can't under-estimate him, Evelyn. Not many children of Zeus can fly. Though I'm not sure if he can, he can at least exert some power over the air. And though he did seem very embarrassed, he did not give me the impression of being very astonished when he held himself up from the ground. He has probably been able to do that, maybe a lot more, for a long while." Chiron tugged at his graying beard, looking very solemn. "I guess we'll just have to see," he continued with a sigh, "to give him a chance. Maybe he is the answer we have been needing to our, um, current little problem. The Ophiatuarus _is_ a sacred animal of Zeus."

Eve nodded, wondering if a person could get a quest if they had only been at camp for four days.

"I'd better go check on him. He was pretty shook up about all this." She smiled sadly at Chiron, and then turned down the path to the cabin. Looking back once, she saw the tall form of Chiron, staring up at the sky, as though searching for answers.

* * *

><p>Peter pushed the plume of his helmet out of his eyes for the hundredth time that night and sighed heavily. This was so boring.<p>

Of course, it hadn't sounded boring when he first heard about it. It doesn't get any better than a bunch of kids with dangerous weapons fighting each other for a piece of cloth in dark, monster infested woods. But only if you're fighting. Or sneaking around; maybe spying. Anything really, other than sitting on a hard rock with only mosquitoes for company. _Guard duty sucks,_ Peter thought darkly, shifting position on the rock. He half hoped someone would come and attack them already.

Suddenly a noise sounded behind him, a low, growling, raspy, noise deep in the bush by the rock. Peter jumped to his feet, holding his sword out and breathing shakily. Whatever it was did not sound human. The bushes parted and a huge creature came out, low and crouching, shaped like a dog/puma thing with wicked long fangs and little purple flames for eyes. Its sleek black ears flattened against its skull and it let out a low hiss. Peter gulped, and swung at the creature just as it leaped.

Sword met claws and the black thing went flying to the side over Peter's head, taking his sword with it, tumbling and hissing to a stop in an angry heap about fifteen feet from Peter.

The decision on what to do next was easy. Weaponless, an angry monster hot on his heels, Peter turned and ran through the woods as fast as he could.

Trees tore at his sides. Bushes snagged at his clothes. The sound of the monster behind him got closer. Panting hard, Peter jumped a rock, stumbled through a creek, and aimed to the left, up, away from camp, where the trees were thinning out. His heart was beating so loud in his ears and sweat was dripping into his eyes, making them sting like fire. But as hard as he was pushing, as fast as he felt, he knew the monster would catch up. Its claws scratched at his heel, and he stumbled to the right, getting up and running again, as it roared in frustration. But Peter wasn't fooled. The monster was going easy on him, tiring him out before making the kill. And it looked like it was ready to kill him.

_I've no choice…_ Peter scrambled to the top of a rock, and without glancing behind to see if the monster had caught up, he leaped into the air, soaring towards the treetops, hearing roars fade behind him as a breeze lifted him up, and he flew away, above the crest of the forest below.

Gazing over the trees, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal, Peter stopped, stretching his arms wide and tilting to turn upright, where he floated, looking down on the forest. At one of the far ends, he could see the proud cabin of Zeus, gleaming brilliant marble though the sun had already dipped below the horizon. For the first time since he had found out, Peter allowed himself to think about his father.

Zeus. The Lord of the Skies. Leader over the gods. Also did hospitality/guest-welcoming in his spare time. How could he possibly be Peter's father? Other than the fact that he was floating at five hundred feet and five inches above the earth, he couldn't make any connection between himself and…_Zeus._

Truthfully, Peter wasn't how sure he wanted to be connected to the guy, err, god. He was fifteen years old, and just now got claimed. He had never met either of his parents, and before he had just thought them to be dead, or maybe just forgotten he existed after dumping him at Gerry Crawford's Home for Children. Zeus obviously didn't really care.

So why had he been claimed now?

Suddenly the conversation he had eavesdropped right before his fall came to mind, and he almost fell out of the sky.

What if his dad like…needed help now?

A tumbled mix of emotions played through him. Was it a good thing to be needed? Maybe normally, but by someone who probably didn't care a thing about you…someone who was probably…using you? What did Zeus want then? For Peter, after only having had a week of training, to go out and capture some magical monster with power over the gods?

Suddenly very weary, Peter dipped his head and started downward towards a small hill at the end of the forest. There appeared to be a cave or something on the top of it, and the sky had clouded over like it was going to rain.

Alighting gently on the top of the hill, he walked towards the entrance. Now up closer, Peter could see that the front of the cave appeared to be made of fine marble, and that a little path, outlined with stone, led to a dark purple curtain across the entrance. Somebody lived here.

"Hello?" Peter yelled out, and was surprised to see the curtain part to a beautiful young girl with bright green eyes and curly red hair. She smiled like she'd been expecting him, and waved him inside like an old friend.

Of course, growing up in an orphanage teaches many things, one of which is to be careful with whom you trust, but Peter had never really come across any beautiful girls luring him into caves before. Plus a delicious smell was coming from inside, making him remember that he had missed supper that night, not having wanted to eat alone.

He walked in to the cave, and the strange girl shut the thick purple curtain behind him.

If the outside of the cave had been a little out of the ordinary, the inside was crazy. Polished tile floor had been painted to look like throw rugs had been carelessly tossed down, and two huge bean bags were situated around a low brown table, set for two. The walls were covered in paintings, several of a boy with serious green eyes and messy black hair. There were also paintings of things that Peter thought might not have even happened yet; of the future.

In the far left corner, a bed and stereo system seemed to be the only normal things in the room, excepted for a little stove, counter, and mini fridge in the right corner. The counter had slices of watermelon and a tray of fresh barbecue on it, and Peter's stomach growled loudly.

The girl laughed, jerking Peter's attention back to the fact that he was in a stranger's living room, gaping at everything like an idiot.

"Um, hi. I'm Peter." He waved awkwardly, then immediately wished he hadn't from the amused look on her face.

"I know. I'm Rachel, Oracle of camp half-blood, and you're Peter Taylor, son of Zeus. I've been wondering when you would come visit me. Have a seat and I'll bring your food." She walked towards the kitchen, and Peter sat gingerly on one of her bean bags.

Rachel was back with the food before Peter could get used to the chair, and she set it on the low table, taking a seat across from him and watching him intently as he ate, as though expecting him to choke.

They passed a few minutes in uncomfortable silence, while Peter picked at the food and wondered how Rachel had known his name, though he had never met her before. Was she a part of Camp Half-Blood? What on earth was an oracle, anyway?

Finally he pushed away the plate and cleared his throat. Instantly, startling him enough that he almost fell off the bean-bag, she snatched up the plate and dumped it into a low-burning brazier he had thought was a vase or something. The flames swallowed up the plate and a picture flashed; a face of a woman. Rachel didn't seem to notice. Peter stood awkwardly, and realized she was staring intently at his face. She nodded slowly and gestured for him to come over to the back of the cave.

What had looked like the back of the cave, at least. A thick, dark curtain hung from golden hooks on the ceiling, and she pushed it away to reveal a studio of a sort. Peter was not really an art guy or anything, but this was amazing.

Grooves cut into the cave wall held thousands of paint bottles, a rock above each of them painted with a tiny flower in their color. The roof was painted like a night sky, and the full moon seemed to actually light up the room. Unfinished paintings adorned the walls, and in the center of the room stood a huge easel, also splendidly painted, though of the gods.

Rachel walked up to the easel and tore a white covering off the front, revealing a beautiful painting beneath. A boy, portrayed from the waist-up, with his hands spread wide, seemed to be flying across the canvas. A storm was raging around him, lightening flashing and rain pouring. The boy's face, taught with emotion…

Suddenly Peter gasped and took a step back sharply, as though someone had struck him. It was him! It was him, flying in a huge storm, looking as wild as the weather raging around him. His expression was almost scary; afraid but determined, as though he were facing death. How…? How could Rachel have drawn something like this when she hadn't even met him before now? He turned to her, mouth hanging open, grasping for words.

But they didn't come. Rachel suddenly lunged at him, gripping his shoulders with fingers like iron, digging into his shirt and hurting. He stumbled back, struggling to get her off when she suddenly straitened and her head tilted back at a funny angle, staring above his head. Peter froze as her eyes glowed green and her mouth opened, green smoke spilling out. In his head, like thousands of slithering snakes, Peter heard a voice, as old as time, seeming to coil around his head. It said;

_Of earth and sky _

_A battle shall rave_

_Not meant to die _

_A beast you must save_

_So to the land of the dead_

_And the home of the gods_

_The heroes shall tread_

_Against all odds_

_Where by a father's hand one shall fall_

_In a last attempt to save all_

* * *

><p>Nico sighed. He knew he shouldn't have snuck away from the game to visit Rachel, but it wasn't like he'd be missed or anything.<p>

He thought back over the last few weeks dejectedly. It was getting worse. Right after the war, he had felt like he belonged. Being seen as a hero by everyone hadn't hurt. He had built a cabin for Hades, and generally started to be a little more sociable to non dead people.

But it was changing again.

The camp was filling up. New people came almost everyday. Sometimes they liked him, but sometimes they resented him, especially when they were missing a family member from a monster attack. The situation had gotten worse when Percy left. Percy had always looked out for Nico, in one way or another, but now he was gone.

The last blow had been today. Some of the new kids, sons of Ares, had made a game out of "testing" whether or not the son of the god of death could be killed. Nico had had to summon dead warriors at one point before things had settled down. Now it was all over camp. He couldn't even go to the bathroom without someone pointing and whispering at him.

Nico sighed again.

But was leaving really the answer? Maybe the oracle could give him a quest to search for Percy. If not, he could just walk out. Shadow traveling made it pretty easy. Either way, he had to say goodbye to Rachel. The two of them had developed a pretty good friendship. They were actually quite alike; more so because of their differences. _She would_ _understand better than anybody,_ Nico thought.

He had just reached the top of the hill, but paused before opening the curtain to enter the chamber. What was that noise? It sounded like someone was trying to cut a kindergarten girl in half with plastic scissors. He pushed the heavy drape aside quickly and stepped inside.

"Rachel? Rachel? Are you okay in there?" He ran across the room, to the curtain in front of the studio, and ripped it back. It was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen, and he had seen quite a lot of stuff.

The screaming sounds were coming from a boy on the floor, who at a second glance Nico recognized as Peter, the new kid, a son of Zeus. Rachel was standing over him, her eyes green and smoke pouring out of her mouth. She must have already said what she needed to say however, because the glow left her eyes, she blinked a few times, and then looked around confusedly as though wondering why Peter was a pale heap on the floor and her easel had been knocked over.

Nico stepped into the room, and put a hand reassuringly on Rachel's shoulder, while extending the other to help Peter up.

"Are you alright man? I know it's pretty scary the first time you see her do it."

Peter swallowed, and shakily got to his feet, swearing. He stared at the two of them distrustfully.

"What on earth is wrong with her? Does she do that a lot? That girl needs help, dude. That is definitely not normal." He was still staring at Rachel. Nico squeezed her arm gently.

"It's actually completely normal for her. Rachel is the oracle. She has the spirit of Delphi inside of her, and she recites prophecies. But mostly she just gets to live in this cool cave."

Rachel smiled weakly. "I'm guessing I must have recited something just now. Sorry if I freaked you out, Peter."

Peter nodded, but muttered something foul in English under his breath again. He was still shaking pretty badly, and his hand was at his empty sword sheath. Nico smirked, but then his smile faded. Hopefully Peter hadn't been too freaked out to remember the prophecy

"What did she say?"

Peter frowned. "Um…something about…about…a beast or a quest or something. Ask Rachel!"

"But that's just it. I never remember them after I say them. It's not really even me saying the prophecies…it's the Delphi."

Nico his shifted weight nervously.

"You've got to remember, man. It's super important that we know the thing word for word."

Peter shut his eyes, and slowly recited;

_Of earth and sky _

_A battle shall rave_

_Not meant to die _

_A beast you must save_

_So to the land of the dead_

_And the home of the gods_

_The heroes shall tread_

_Against all odds_

_Where by a father's hand one shall fall_

_In a last attempt to save all_

Nico exchanged looks with Rachel. Her green eyes looked pretty confused. First of all; Peter had said he didn't remember the prophecy, but he had just recited the whole thing!

But that was nothing compared to the actual prophecy. A beast. That had to be the Ophiatuarus. And one falling by a father's hand? This was one quest Nico thought might be better to skip. His father didn't really like him.

"Come," he said, turning to Rachel and Peter, "Let's go talk to Chiron."

**So what did you think? Are the POV switches confusing? What do you think of the prophecy? I'm terrible at rhyming! Also I'm not sure if I'm capturing the whole "essence" of Nico. Please let me know what you think. Review!**


	6. Chapter 6 A Quest!

**Chapter 6. A Quest!**

**Hello again! I know this chapter is uncharacteristically short, but that was because my last chapter was too long, and I decided not to tie this on to my next. So you get a little chapter! Please review. I have like 140 hits but only 7 reviews… Please tell me what you guys think! I can't tell if my story is that good or not.**

**But I hope you like it! **

Eve slammed her helmet down in its rack angrily. Of course they lost tonight. Peter had vanished, Percy was gone, and Annabeth, who led them, was _completely_ out of it, and had been out of it ever since the oracle had told her that she couldn't go out searching for Percy. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. _I can't blame them; _she thought guiltily, _I wasn't exactly wonderful either._

Like her older sister, Evelyn also used a knife, though a much longer one. Unlike her sister, she was terrible with it. A regular sword was much more her thing, but knifes were so much cooler. Besides, Annabeth could use it. Why couldn't she?

In the end she had ended up completely beaten; some Ares kids had come around with the flag and pounded her. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. This just wasn't her night. She needed to get the hang of knife fighting.

Hanging up her armor, Eve turned and started out for the campfire.

She was about half way there when she remembered about Peter having disappeared. He'd been put on guard duty, but he must have wandered away. Maybe he got lost…

A camper ran past her, jostling her off the path to the campfire.

"Hurry! It's a prophecy! A quest!" He yelled over his shoulder, and then ran ahead. _A quest?_

Eve felt her heart jump in her chest. A quest! Oh, what if it was for her?_ Fat chance, _she thought, but couldn't help the hope rising in her. Maybe she would be sent to find Percy. Everybody wanted Percy back. She would be a hero! Eve ran the rest of the way to the fire.

She rounded the bend and found everyone talking at once. The fire, which reflected the mood of the campers, was a thousand different shades, leaping up and down, as the campers crowded around it in a group. In the center of the group, talking in a low tone to Nico, the son of Hades, stood Peter. On the other side of Peter was a girl Eve had only seen a few times before; Rachel Dare, the Oracle.

The sound of a hoof being stamped against a rock quieted the campers down, but the fire didn't change it's wild flash of colors.

"Attention! Please quiet down everyone! You too, Conner. Thank you. Now, Peter, would you please explain what is going on?" Chiron folded his arms across his chest and looked a little angry. Maybe he was wishing Peter had come to him first instead of announcing the situation to the whole camp fire.

Peter stood up straighter as though liking all the attention.

"I have a quest."

The noise started all over again. Eve could easily imagine what they were thinking. Peter had only been here for four days. He was just a beginner!

"I went to Rachel's, um, cave today, and she gave me a prophecy. I'm to go to the land of the dead and retrieve a terrible monster that is being kept there, and bring it back to the gods." The fire flashed and sparked. "When can I leave?" Peter demanded, and the noise rose again. Chiron stomped his hoof for silence.

"Please tell us the prophecy, Peter. Then we will talk about leaving."

Peter cleared his throat. Eve clenched her hands together, silently praying for a chance in the quest.

_Of earth and sky _

_A battle shall rave_

_Not meant to die _

_A beast you must save_

_So to the land of the dead_

_And the home of the gods_

_The heroes shall tread_

_Against all odds_

_Where by a father's hand one shall fall_

_In a last attempt to save all_

Peter said the last part so softly she could barely hear him.

The fire burned a low orange. Eve looked around to see many of the campers' silent, staring into the fire. The last lines were worrying them.

_Of earth and sky…_ That probably meant the war between Zeus and Hades. It could also mean that Peter and Nico would be on the quest. The beast was the Ophiatuarus Annabeth had told her about; of this Eve was certain. The land of the dead and home of the gods was also pretty clear.

_By a father's hand one shall fall. _ Now she didn't really want Peter to go. Hey, the last kid Zeus had he turned into a tree. And a last attempt to save all? Would it be a failed attempt? It certainly didn't sound successful.

Chiron turned to Peter and Nico.

"It's seems you have been given the quest. You and Nico, being the sons of the earth and sky gods, shall go. I must warn though," He lowered his voice, "You are preventing a war between your fathers, and this is a dangerous thing." He did not have to mention the last part of the prophecy; it hung there in the air, and the fire changed to a light grey color.

Eve saw the two boys look at each other, as though each were considering the other's possible death.

The campers starting talking again, a mumble slowly growing in volume until it was cut by a shout. Everyone turned to see Annabeth, standing up with her hands on her hips, beautiful blond hair falling out of her ponytail and grey eyes shining strangely in the weird light of the fire.

"Chiron, we are missing something. As everyone here knows, a quest usually consists of three people, at least. There are only two, and Peter is very inexperienced. They won't make it." She gazed straight at Nico and Peter, as though daring them to correct her. Peter frowned, but Nico just turned to look at Chiron.

Chiron nodded.

"You are right, Annabeth. Thank you for pointing that out. Peter, who would you like to accompany you and Nico on this quest?"

Peter's eyes scanned the campers, who were dead silent at this point. Eve's heart beat so loud in her ears she was sure her brother Malcolm, who was sitting next to her, could hear it. Annabeth slowly sat down, but kept her gaze locked on Peter. _Please, please, please…_Eve crossed her fingers. Peter hadn't even looked at her!

Then suddenly it happened. His eyes locked on her face, and he grinned. Eve felt like her heart had stopped beating for a second.

"Eve. I pick Eve." He gestured for her to come over to where he and Nico were sitting, still smiling ear to ear. She stood up, face burning, as her cabin cheered. Making her way around the camp fire, she sat down on a log next to Peter. He leaned close to her to say something in her ear, his hot breath tickling her ear and giving her a shiver.

"Hey. Is it alright that I picked you? I know you've probably already been on a quest before, but I don't know the other kids as well. Besides. This will be fun!" He was still grinning, seeming to have completely forgotten the part about one of them probably dying. She found herself smiling too. A quest! Contrary to what Peter thought, this was actually her first.

"Alright! Go to your cabins everyone! The heroes who will be going on the quest tomorrow need to meet me during breakfast to talk. Goodnight everyone!" Chiron turned and started to make his way back to the Big House. The campers got up, organizing by their various cabins to go get ready for bed. Peter and Nico lingered behind, talking, and Eve was about to turn back and join them, but Annabeth called her into line and they headed off to Athena's cabin.

**So? What do you guys think? What do you think of Eve and Peter? Would they make a good couple? Have I given that good of a picture of their personalities? **

**Also I was thinking about writing another fanfic as well…not a sequel to this one but an entirely different story…Maybe a daughter of Aphrodite that is more like Piper than Drew. I've noticed very few O.C.'s that are like Piper from the Aphrodite cabin. They all get pretty bad rep. I was thinking of playing into that factor a little; of the whole stereotype thing and the fact that many people (and demigods) view them as pretty worthless. **

**Sound interesting? It's still only an idea right now, but I thought I throw it out there… **


	7. Chapter 7 Wayward tracks

**Chapter 7. Wayward Tracks and Flying Trains**

**Sorry for taking forever to upload! Here is a long chapter as a little sorry-gift. I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan is the master-mind. I'm the settings-barrower. **

The morning dawned bright and early. Too early, in Peter's point of view. Why would anyone ever want to meet at _dawn_ to leave on a quest? It wasn't like they were on a huge, time sensitive mission, right? But at least he _could_ go. Better to go on a cool quest with a creepy emo and a cute girl at 5:30 in the morning than to sleep in but stay at camp, where everyone stared at you like you were a weirdo.

So he got up, sighing to himself and wincing sharply as he flicked on the light and rummaged through his drawers for something to wear. He dragged a pair of worn jeans, a camp T-shirt, and a dark purple hoodie out of the dresser, hoping he had remembered to pack last night instead of just laying out a knap-sack. It was too early to think; much less pack.

Peter tripped around the room, searching for any signs of having packed last night. He sighed. Not even an open drawer. He hoped Eve had packed a kind of group bag or something.

Yawning heavily and rubbing furiously at his sleepy eyes, Peter opened the top drawer of his dresser and emptied it into his pillow case. _There. That's good enough, _Peter thought, and sullenly opened the door and walked into the soft light of dawn…and straight into Eve.

"Hello sleepy-head! I was about to make sure you were up. I've been up since four, I'm so excited! This is going to be great! Do you have a sword? Or bow and arrow? I know you're pretty good with that too. I've got my knife. Whoa. Is that your _pillow case_? You don't have a backpack or something? You should've asked one of the kids from the Hermes cabin. They can get you anything. Even new kids. Do you know when we're going to start? It's getting kind of late; the sun is almost up." She paused, maybe waiting for an answer, or maybe catching her breath.

Peter hoped he didn't look as bewildered as he felt. If Eve was hyper and crazy in the day, she was insane at five in the morning. Talking with her was like getting hit with a bunch of pillows when you just woke up; you're too confused to know how to respond.

"Umm…" Peter finally said, real intelligently. Then Nico walked up, and Eve turned the torrent in his direction and Peter was saved from having to answer.

"Hey Nico! Have you seen Chiron? Peter needs something other then that dumb pillowcase and we need to leave like right now. I've been ready for hours, how about you? Annabeth wanted to see us off, and she's up at the Big House now. Come on you guys! Hurry. Have you eaten? I packed enough rations for all of us in my bag, but we need to eat something before we leave, probably. Do you know where we are going, Peter? Aren't you like the leader or something?" She would have kept it up, but Nico broke in.

"I know where we're going, and no, Peter is not the leader of this quest."

Then he turned on his heel and started up to the big house.

Eve blinked, as though surprised, opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut and started up the hill after him. Peter shrugged to himself and followed.

* * *

><p>Nico leaned forward on the couch, trying to gauge the expressions on his fellow questers.<p>

They stared forward, each seeming lost in thought, considering the plan. To his left, Chiron clopped into the room holding two mugs of hot chocolate, and Annabeth followed with the third cup, coffee, for Eve.

"So," Peter finally broke the silence. "We are taking a train to the middle of no-where, where we'll stumble around the foot of some mountain in hopes to find a little cave that you're not even sure still exists, fight an army of monsters, capture a cow, bring it to _my _psychotic father while hiding it from _your_ psychotic father, then hopefully explain everything in a way that nobody gets blasted and no wars get started. Am I missing anything?" He raised an eyebrow as if to say, _you really think this is going to work?_

Nico glared at him. The sky rumbled with low thunder.

"He can hear you calling him psychotic, you know." Eve said into her mug.

"Do you have any better plans?" Nico challenged, irritated.

Peter shook his head, and then took a long draught of the hot chocolate. Nico rolled his eyes as the boy fell to the floor, coughing and sputtering, his face as red as his hair.

"Careful, redhead. It's hot."

Peter glared at him, but he just smiled. This was going to be an interesting quest.

Argus came into the room, took their bags, and motioned that he wanted them to follow. Annabeth smiled grimly, hugged Evelyn goodbye, patted his shoulder, and waved at Peter.

The three piled into the van, waving goodbye nervously as the doors closed and they officially started the quest.

Their first quest.

Nico wasn't entirely sure about Evelyn, but this was certainly Peter's first and his own…technical first. Though he had left camp multiple times for many different things, he had never actually been sent out on a traditional quest, much less with two partners.

He felt the responsibility, knowing that even though Peter had received the oracle, it was _him_ who was the senior camper here, and it was _him_ with the most experience.

He just hoped Peter felt the same way.

Glancing over to Peter and Eve, Nico smiled. The two were arguing about something, Peter was apparently taking up the whole backseat with his bag, and Eve kept grabbing her hair and pulling it in frustration. Peter was saying that Eve could sit next to him, but she kept blushing and shaking her head.

In the front, Argus glanced up at the rearview mirror occasionally, but seemed a lot more focused on the road. Nico glanced out at the snow-dusted hills, dotted with beautiful pines and the occasional centaur family. It wasn't so bad actually, Nico thought to himself, to be on a "normal" quest, something he had previously thought was just for "regular" campers.

The van slowed down to a halt in front of a big train station, and Argus hopped out and opened the door for them. Nico scrambled out first, and slung his black-skull backpack onto his back. Peter and Eve slid out after him, grumbling at each other and grabbing their bags. Argus got back into the van, saluted them all, and drove away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. Nico turned to the others and shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly. They seemed to feel as lost as he did, and for a second even Eve had nothing to say. Then Peter cleared his throat.

"Well, guess we better go buy those tickets. Are you guys coming?" He turned on his heel and started into the building.

Eve looked at Nico, shrugged, and turned to follow Peter.

Nico sighed. Who was he kidding? He couldn't lead these people. He was more of a solo guy.

Suddenly, just for a second, Nico considered running off. He could melt into the shadows, be at the spot in seconds, fight the monsters, and be off to Olympus by the end of the day. It couldn't be that hard, could it? So long as he didn't have these fumblers hanging on to him and slowing him down.

He pictured himself, the hero of Olympus, saving the gods all by himself. Smiling, Nico adjusted his pack on his shoulder and headed for a shadow in the crack of the wall. He had just reached it, but he paused. The words of Chiron from the night before rang clearly in his head. It had been after the campfire, after answering as much of the crazy campers questions as he could stand, he had said goodnight to Peter and headed off to his cabin, where he had found Chiron waiting for him. Chiron had chatted with him a little about the quest, telling him what he needed to pack, stuff like that, but just as Nico was about to head into his cabin Chiron had called him back. Looking him straight in the eyes, with a touch of sadness as though it were bad news that he gave, he had said,

"A lone hero is a doomed hero, Nico. All of you are needed for this quest to succeed." Then without any explanation he had turned on his heel and left for the big house. Nico had been exhaustedly tired, and without much thought, had simply went to pack and then to bed.

But now the words rung in his head so clearly it was as if Chiron were standing right behind him, warning him not to give up on the klutzy, cocky redhead and the fiery, talkative Eve.

Suddenly he heard a call from the other side of the train station.

"Nico! Nico? Where are you? We got the tickets! Let's go!" It was Eve, her voice full of infectious excitement.

Sighing heavily, Nico turned from the dark crevice in the wall and started for the other side of the train station. He couldn't give up even before he began, could he?

* * *

><p>Eve sighed contently as she gazed out the window. It was a beautiful day, and the country side of New York was rolling by, a light snow melting in the sunlight, the trees dusted with white. Turning from the lovely scenery, Eve looked at her companions in the seats next to her. They had both fallen asleep, and had rolled so that they were leaning on each other, and Peter was kind of drooling.<p>

Even with drool at the edge of his lip, Eve thought Peter looked cute. His rumpled jeans and wrinkled camp half-blood t-shirt looked nice somehow with his red shaggy cut, and he was wearing purple converses. He rolled in his sleep so that he was facing her, and mumbled something she couldn't make out. Her heart beat a little faster and she licked her lip nervously, glad he was still asleep. The three of them were sitting in a row together, with her at the window and Nico at the aisle, and of course Peter was in the middle. Eve had been half happy, but half nervous, knowing she couldn't possibly nap while knowing that she might fall asleep on Peter Taylor.

He moaned again in his sleep, and rubbed his left arm with his right. Eve sucked in her breath with surprise. She had never noticed before, but Peter had white scars running across the whole length of his fore-arm, as though he had been slashed with a knife. They were pale and slightly raised, as though they had been pretty deep. Even so, the scars appeared almost purposeful, running in a perfect diagonal pattern from his elbow to the inside of his wrist. What could they be from? Eve frowned. She couldn't remember him saying anything about his past, other than that he was an orphan and wouldn't be missed.

Suddenly the train jerked and bucked, the lights blinking across the ceiling as though the power had been knocked. Nico blinked sleepily, but just rolled over and went back to sleep. No one else seemed to notice that anything had happened.

Eve frowned suspiciously. Maybe she would get up and take a look around, see if the other passengers had heard anything from the driver. She quickly tied up her curly black hair, and slid her grey jacket off her back and unto the seat. It wasn't cold enough to use it. On a last impulse, she grabbed her celestial bronze dagger and slid it in the sheath strapped inside of the leg of her jeans. She had the funniest feeling she should take it along.

Sliding along the edge of the aisle as so not to wake the boys, Eve slid out from their bench and into the main aisle. Some passengers glanced up at her as she passed by, but many were sleeping or playing on electronics.

She was walking along, guessing she just might check with the attendant in the back to see if she could buy them a couple of Seven Ups, when some passengers caught her eye. They were sitting in the second to last row, and one was a beautiful woman with bouncy blonde hair and a business skirt, while the other was a very large man in a trench coat. They were hunched down over some map or something, and didn't notice her walking up to their bench. She was stared at them curiously, something niggling at the back of her brain, as if to say that something was wrong; something wasn't as it should be.

Then the man glanced up, and Eve's heart jumped into her throat. In the middle of a wide, dirty, forehead the man had a large brown eye. _One_ eye.

Heart pounding, she rushed past them and ducked into the restroom, breathing hard. A Cyclops on the train! And who was the lady? Almost undoubtedly another monster, unless some demigods were working with the monsters. What had they been discussing?

She turned and looked at her self in the tiny cramped mirror. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide, completely terrified. Strands of black hair were falling from her messy bun, and her chest was heaving under her black cotton turtle-neck.

_Think. Think! _Eve scolded herself. She was a child of Athena; she needed to think up a game plan. Somehow, without waking up the boys, she had two kill the monsters. No, what about the other passengers? And she couldn't take down two of them herself. Maybe if she slipped past them they wouldn't notice her, and she could warn the boys not to go to the bathroom, and the monsters wouldn't even know that there were half-bloods on the train.

Suddenly a chill went down her back, and she saw her jaw drop in horror in the mirror. What was she thinking? Traveling across the country with two of the most powerful demigods in the world? Big three kids! There was no way the monsters hadn't smelled them yet.

But…if they were already discovered, why wasn't anything being done? Most monsters would kill any demigod that came within a hundred meters. Unless… unless they were part of a plan. A plan to be captured later, maybe questioned…

Eve shook her head in frustration. Guessing would only get her so far. If she could slip out without any sound, maybe she could crouch down in the bench behind the two. Nico and Peter's scent from ten rows ahead was probably overwhelming enough to cover up her own. She could eaves-drop on their conversation, maybe figure out what was going on, then slip past and tell the boys. If there was a trap, she'd find out and be able to get them out of it. She could do it.

Taking a deep breath, Eve stood up straighter in the mirror and tried to look confidant. She could do this. Annabeth wouldn't even have hesitated. Reaching over to the door handle, she turned the knob and slipped outside, and slid right into the bench behind the two monsters.

At first, all she could hear was her own heart, beating in her chest, and her breathing, coming out in short, terrified gasps. Then she calmed down. No one had caught her, at least not yet.

The conversation came into focus.

"…three half-bloods, just right up there in their seats. They don't even know that we're here." The female's voice said.

"I told you; we have to kill them quickly. They might get away in the confusion of the train wreck. It's about to crash anyway; we might as well go up there and create a commotion." Eve's heart was beating even faster, if that were possible. The Cyclops had said that they were going to kill them? And what was this about a train wreck? Suddenly she realized that the monsters were talking again.

"…too late, but if we make our way to the front of the train…" The female announced and then the two rose from the bench and started to make their way down the aisle.

Eve's body went cold all over. They were going now! To kill her friends! She had to save them! Rising from the bench, Eve yelled out as loud as she could, and ran down the aisle, dagger drawn.

Using the side chairs as vaults, she launched into the air and landed like a cat in the girl-monsters back, plunging her dagger to the hilt in the base of the neck. The woman screamed like a banshee, her skin turning milk-white and her hair bursting into flames, as she collapsed on the floor in a pile of gold dust. Eve jumped up, as fast as she could, expecting a sword in her face from the Cyclops, but as she looked up she saw his face twisted in pain as a death-black sword protruded from his chest. Then he faded away in a pile of dust, and Eve saw the shocked, slightly sleep-puffy face of Nico, his stygian iron sword held out in front of him, and a dazed, bed-head looking Peter behind him.

"What in Hades…" Nico began, but Eve cut him off.

"No time. The train is about to crash. We need to get to the front and warn the…"

Suddenly a huge slam hit the side of the train and it went air-born.

Screaming, her dagger knocked from her hands, Eve went flying through the air and crashed through the window, tumbling onto the cold, snow-slushy ground. She tried to get up, as she saw the train flying through the air into the field, rolling before coming to a stop on its side. Eve struggled to stand, but her head felt like lead. Putting a hand to her forehead, she felt something warm and wet. Black balloons loomed in her vision and she stumbled backwards, falling down, the world spinning into blackness.

Right on top of the train tracks.

**(Please Read! It's important!)**

**There it was! What do you guys think? I'm completely fine if you flame me. Any feedback is good, to help me know if I'm doing ok writing the story.**

**So I have something fun. A few chapters ahead, like chapter 9 or 10, I'm going to be bringing in an OC character. I already know what I'm going to do with her, she's going to be a kind of throw in to Peter and Eve's almost thing they have going on, to kind of bring out their relationship. I already know that she's going to be a kind of tough girl, who is a half-blood, but isn't currently in camp half-blood. But I can't say everything because it's a surprise! The thing is; I haven't made up her actual person yet, as in godly parent, looks, exact personality, etc. So if anybody's interested, I need some help.**

**Here is the info I need:**

**Name:**

**Godly Parent:**

**Background: (sad please, but not too detailed because I have something really specific planned for her)**

**Hair:**

**Face:**

**Abilities/skills:**

**Personality:**

**Fatal Flaw:**

**Weapon of choice:**

**Mortal family:**

**Other notes:**

**Thanks guys! I will accept any godly parent, any ability level, but remember that I have something really specific in mind (plot wise) for this character, so please don't be disappointed if I don't choose your OC.**


	8. Chapter 8 Lost

Chapter 8. Lost in the Middle of Somewhere

**Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it. Please review! I'm still waiting for more OC's before I make my final choice, so don't forget to submit since I can't write the 9th/10th chapter until I have that OC! **

**Disclaimer: Riordan. Me. Together; this beautiful tale of adventure and even a little romance, if Eve works up the guts to let Peter know she likes him (it could happen!).**

**Also a shout-out for ILoveLukeC who now has submitted the most reviews! Thanks so much for your support! And thank you everybody else too! **

Peter opened his eyes blearily, cold shocking clear to his bones. It was supposed to be spring soon, but a soft blanket of chilling snow had settled gently over him, which meant that he had probably been out for a while.

Rising slowly to his feet, teeth chattering since he wasn't wearing his sweater, Peter surveyed his surroundings. For a second, his muddled mind thought he was still back in the orphanage, and he half expected the headmistress to come out and yell at him for sleeping outside. But then he saw the wreckage of the train, and everything came rushing back, bringing the realization that he was alone, in the softly falling snow.

Alarmed, Peter spun around, heart pounding, and called out into the empty terrain.

"Eve! Nico! Are you guys ok?" Peter's voice seemed to be washed away in the wind.

He turned again, and took a few steps towards the wreckage, which seemed to be abandoned. Shivering, he felt his eyes sting from something more than the icy weather. He was alone again.

Peter's heart seemed to drop to the very bottom of his toes. His bangs hung in front of his eyes, softly dusted with snow. He swatted at it, frustrated, to brush away the snow, but it clung and melted, making his hair stick to his forehead and freeze. A hot bolt of anger at the unfairness of the situation shot through Peter and he yelled out in rage. Suddenly he felt as though a bolt really was going through his body, bursting through his very skin, but before he could do anything, he heard a bang like a gun being shot and the sound of electricity hitting metal. His vision blacked out for a second, but he blinked his eyes, and glanced around him in surprise. Had that come from him? The nearest piece of broken box car was steaming at the top, and Peter realized he wasn't the least bit cold anymore. In fact, he felt a little warm, though the sensation was fading quickly.

Jogging over to the electrocuted boxcar, Peter touched the tip with his finger and jumped back in surprise. It was hot!

A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned, and saw something jumping up and down. No, it was flapping, a piece of cloth or something, flapping in the wind. Peter squinted at it, then his eyes widened with recognition. _Is that my…purple sweater? _

It hung from a pole, waving in the wind, as though a signal or marker of a sort, and Peter ran towards it. He slowed cautiously before it, glancing around. Taking his switch-blade from his pocket and opening it, he edged towards the strange flag, then, seeing no one around, yanked it from the pole and slid it on. His fingers fumbled with the zipper, and he stepped backwards into a little scuffle in the snow. Frowning, Peter dropped the zipper and stared at the mark. It was covered by the shelter of the edge of the boxcar, but it was still pretty faint. Peter bent down to examine in, to find a sword point in his face.

"Ah! Peter! Sorry! I wasn't sure it was you! Come in! Eve's here, but she's not doing so good. She hit her head pretty hard on the train track when she was thrown from the train. Are you alright?" It was Nico, huddled in a side-ways, bent up cargo-car, with a heap of blankets lying next to him. On second glance, Peter realized it was Eve. Ducking under the low roof, he crawled in and collapsed on some blankets next to her.

"You sure took your time looking for me." He muttered into the blanket.

"I had to get Eve out of the chill. In case you haven't noticed, its night-time. You've been out for hours. I scavenged food and blankets from the supplies-car, and made this little shelter for Eve, all before the mortals came to the rescue. I wanted to get you, but once they came I had to hide out in here." Nico looked irritated, as though Peter should have guessed his reasons for not searching for him. Peter sat up and glared accusingly at Nico.

"What about after they left? Their footprints are gone; they obviously have been gone for hours. I could've frozen to death!" Peter snapped.

"I had to take care of Eve! She looked worse! I put up the sweatshirt as a flag, and decided to go out later. I was actually about to go out when I heard a bang, kind of like a gun shot. I thought robbers were looting the wreck, or else I would have come out!" Nico held up his hands as though to defend himself.

"Lay off, man! You're safe now, ok? What was that bang, anyways?" Nico said, studying Peter suspiciously, and Peter noticed for the first time that Nico's forehead was badly cut under his dark, wet bangs. He felt a little bad for yelling at the guy, and settled back down on the blanket meekly.

"That was me. At least, I think so. I got mad and something happened." He got up again, and leaned over Eve. "And what happened to your forehead?" He heard Nico sigh in frustration but ignored him.

"I hit it in the wreck. Duh."

Peter pulled back the blankets from over Eve and winced. Her hair was caked with blood, and her skin was pale. Her breathing was shallow and raspy. He thought she was unconscious, but she opened her eyes and looked up at him. Peter swallowed, feeling tears sting at his eyes again at the pain in hers. Since when was he such a softie?

"Hey," he said softly, and gently touched her face with the tips of his fingers. She smiled, and raised her hand out from under the blankets to touch his hand, making him blush a little. Why was he blushing? It wasn't like he liked her or anything.

Nico coughed next to them, reminding Peter of their situation. They needed to get out of the wreck site. He had seen a low forest to the end of the field, and he guessed it would be warmer in there. They especially needed to move before the mortals realized they had missed three teens in the rescue, and came back. They also needed to continue on their quest.

But looking outside, all Peter could see was dark, with darker blobs for the wreckage. The wind was also picking up. They shouldn't go anywhere tonight. He glanced back at Nico, who was huddled in an oversized black aviators jacket, and Eve, who was bundled up in a heap of blankets, and felt an overwhelming feeling come over him, a protective instinct, as though he was responsible for them. As though they were his little family. It was a feeling he hadn't felt before, and it creeped him out a little. He turned back to the falling snow outside.

All of his life he'd been mostly on his own. Besides living with fifteen other boys in an orphanage dorm-room, Peter had depended on his own abilities since as long as he could remember. When he was little, yeah, he _had_ gotten less to eat, but by the time he could fight for himself, he'd been ok. Sure, he could remember times when he hid from the bigger boys in a dumpster for hours after stealing something from them, and he could remember countless times when he was locked out of the orphanage for not making a curfew because he was in hiding, or trying to steal something to cure his hunger pangs. But it wasn't that bad. Peter had never felt self-pity, because there was over two hundred kids with him in that stinky orphanage, all dealing with the same problems of bullying, neglect, cruelty, and hunger as him.

He glanced down at the scars marking up his arm and winced, remembering the day he'd gotten those as though it were yesterday…

"Peter." Nico's voice broke through Peter's memories. "You want something to eat? Eve and I already ate so don't get her up. I fed her some ambrosia; she should be better in the morning if she rests. We can stay the night here, can't we?"

Peter sighed and turned back to Eve's side, reaching for the bag of supplies. He was pretty hungry.

"We'll leave in the morning. You should probably take some ambrosia; your cough sounds pretty awful." He said to Nico, then pulled out some food and handed over the bag.

Nico looked at him for a second, as though trying to figure him out. Then he seemed to make a decision in himself and took the bag without a word.

Peter shrugged to himself, not really caring, and shoved a chunk of bread wrapped in beef-jerky in his mouth and leaned back, closing his eyes. He swallowed, sighed heavily, then lay back and pulled a blanket over himself, scooting ever so slightly closer to Eve's sleeping form. Then he closed his eyes, a wave of exhaustion crashing over him.

"'Night Eve. 'Night Nico." He muttered, but was asleep before he could hear their replies.

It was silent in the little box-car.

Then the son of Hades got up and went to crouch at the edge of the car, looking out into the snow.

He looked anxiously back at the two sleeping forms, but they didn't stir. Slipping into the shadow of the box-car, Nico disappeared into the night.

**Well! What do you think? I know that chapter was a little short for me; sorry! But it was a pretty quick update, right? What are the mysterious scars on Peter's arm? Where did Nico go? Does Peter really like Eve? **

**That will be all until I pick the OC, because I need it for the end of chapter 9. I have some really great OCs already to pick from, but I'll wait for a few more before I choose.**

**Thanks for reading and please review! It always means so much and helps me update faster!**


End file.
